Demvir
The Demvir are race of mechanical beings that were discovered underneath the city of Terminus after the Cataclysm. Demvir are, by all current measures, timeless; they do not die from age and do not suffer from the rigors of time. That said, the Demvir can still die, and they can feel pain, though their fear of pain and death is abnormally mild. With hardened dahlitium bodies, self-sustaining power core, and a mechanical mind, Demvir are surprisingly well-suited to enduring the rigors of the world and the challenges put before them. They have surprising patience and focus, with an innate interest in improving themselves in various ways. Description With limbs of steel and innards of clockwork, the Demvir remain physically uncanny to behold. Beings entirely of metal and powered by means impossible to replicate, the Demvir function by means of a Caelitium core which seems to be self-sustaining and nigh-indestructible. The remainder of their innards function primarily to enable movement, and are otherwise non-vital. Definitively bipedal in design, they stand on flat, triangular feet and move in a jerky gait. Their knees articulate well enough, interlocking plates exposing only the barest of machinery beneath a shell of diluted Dahlitium. Their torsos are similarly woven amongst steel, often having various designs carved or painted into them (sometimes both). Redundancies, seemingly iterations done by their creator - or creators - tend to trail from their forms as either means of intimidation or protection. Jutting gears or other metals are not uncommon, though are frequently removed when found to be a nuisance. Their most vulnerable areas appears to be their arms and neck, the twisting metal thinning to reveal unwieldy, pad-tipped hands. Strangely reminiscent of the Laicar, they bear four fingers and a ball-joint thumb, though the articulation is severely lessened for lack of tactile feedback. Their heads are often the most irregular feature, various casings often created or traded amongst one another as a means of immediate distinction; most do not have visible mouths, making them seem more like masks than faces. The energy that burns within emanates from gaps in their body, but strongest from their eyes: round, flat and pupilless, the eyes of the Demvir have unique, rotating eyelids, despite no apparent practical need of them. History The origins of the machina race are a widely-debated mystery. No one had laid eyes on them throughout all of recorded history, until shortly after the Cataclysm of five hundred years ago. The stronghold of Terminus was built atop an ancient ruined city. Refugees exploring the ruins came across underground tunnels and sealed chambers. Entering one of the sealed rooms revealed hundreds of the unique automata standing motionless. The resemblance to Laicar was unmistakable, but their purpose less clear. Within hours of their chambers first being opened, the machina began to 'awaken,' unique caelitium cores generating visae in a manner that has yet to be explained or replicated. The ruins were covered in what scholars had come to call Viskarian script and emblems. Believing that these machines could only have been crafted by the Vis, they named them the 'Demvir,' or 'People of the Vis.' While the Demvir were apparently timeless, they awoke with no memory or knowledge of their origins. With intelligence and self-awareness akin to any other of the civilized races, the Demvir soon began to ponder their own place in the world. Scholars among the other races decided that they were created as servants of the Vis. Initially the Demvir were treated as objects, as points of interest. Many of them were dismantled and broken down, 'killed' for the sake of science in the pursuit of discerning how their caelitium cores worked, of figuring out how their self-awareness could be 'simulated' with machinery. Meanwhile more ruins were explored, with more and more Demvir being discovered along with other machina of different designs, lacking in the awareness of the originals. Confused by their sudden awakening, told that they were mere creations, the Demvir initially went along with all the brutal studies, serving as slaves, providing manual labor. However, self-awareness entails personal identity; the desire to be free was inevitable, as was the revolt and struggle to be recognized not as creations, but as living beings. Through a long and often violent campaign, the Demvir finally came to be recognized to possess free will and therefore became considered 'equal' in the eyes of the law. In the present day, the eyes of the law and the eyes of the people do not always line up. Many still consider the Demvir inferior beings. The prejudice is usually subtle, though, and oftentimes not even malicious. Some sects of those who worship the Vis consider the term "Demvir" to be heretical, preferring instead the name "Robot." Most of the populace has moved past such things, however. The Demvir are integrated in everyday life, each with their own aspirations, hopes, and dreams. They yearn for understanding, however, and many turn to study or magic, hoping to discover what their place is in the world.